It is known to provide one or more components, e.g., electromechanical or electrical components, or both, in the interior of a fuel tank of a vehicle, such as a land-based vehicle. Examples of such components may include a fuel pump, a fuel level sensor, a fuel tank pressure sensor, a fuel quality sensor, etc. Commonly, each of such components may have different interface and control requirements, such as operational voltage levels, input/output (I/O) characteristics, electrical grounding requirements, signal processing architectures, connector requirements, etc., since these components may be manufactured by unrelated business entities, and may not be configured to meet a common interface standard.
In the event multiple components, such as modular components, need to be installed within the fuel tank to provide enhanced functionality in the vehicle, the logistics of providing a physically realizable integration of any such components may become very costly and time consuming. For example, providing an aggregation of separate electrical interfaces and/or controllers for each component that meets the allowable physical and budgetary constraints of the assembly, may be a daunting task, if at all possible.
In view of the foregoing considerations, it would be desirable to provide an improved interface and control assembly that, at relatively low-cost, allows simplifying the physical interface, and providing reliable control of multiple types of components used in fuel management applications. It would be further desirable to provide an assembly that, in an integrated fashion, provides a high degree of flexibility to vehicle manufacturers and their suppliers regarding the utilization and integration of multiple types of components in the interior of the fuel tank of the vehicle so as to provide an integrated fuel management system.